Archive for November 17th, 2013

Micheal Barns was just your average guy growing up, did ok in school, not too many friends, average job, complete hatred for the entire world. Regular stuff. He never struck out against the people who angered him because he never saw the point in it compared to one event that was to come. The end of the world, December 21st, 2012. Every little frustration he had paled in comparison to the day everything was supposed to be destroyed. Meteor crash, Fire from the sky, massive earthquakes, whatever. So he patiently waited.

Until… it didn’t happen. December 22rd came around, he even gave it till the last possible time zone was done but… nothing. No doomsday he was promised, no justice for the corrupt world or destruction of himself and his enemies. Just a regular day. Fate denied him the end he was promised.

The world was supposed to be destroyed, and if it wasn’t going to blow itself up then he’d just have to do it himself. He spent months traveling the world, setting up ploys, traps, and evil schemes to activate when the time came. Planned misinformation for government leaders, youtube videos to rile up the masses, and all manner of destruction.

2012 wasn’t the end of the world, but it was the beginning of the end.

One of the oldest living people in the city, living in the oldest apartment building that survived the flood, Gran Harrelson is an old age pensioner whose biggest struggle these days is just making ends meet. To that end, Gran sells old-timey folk charms to ward off the dead that plague her building. She’s been so effective at working up a reputation that everyone from floor five and up are convinced she’s Alestair Crowley’s ex-mistress.

Of course, that does nothing for their actual effectiveness. Her charms are written in Sharpie on cheap printer paper. Her cash register is brand new, though.

Melcola is a seer and oracle who lives alone in a tower on a swamp. She has a large collection of magical devices and potions. Some say she has a collection of dangerous items what she hides away from those who would use them for evil. She likes her seclusion but many people visit her to learn about the future. Her answers are always mysterious but accurate if you know how to interpret them.

A small commando squad has been having a lot of trouble with keeping its members. Each recruit either double crosses them, or gets killed in action. Then, the leader finds a solution: they look to a high school and take a young 18-year-old senior under their wing, hoping that within a few years, she can be a reliable teammate.

Jonathan’s the reluctant companion of Raquel and a child of one of the former troupe members. He was asked by both Arty and Arty’s father to look after Raquel. He was a part of the local group of soldiers until his fight that cost him his left eye. Jonathan carries both a sword and a pair of muskets (though weapons are not completely finalized.)

Arty’s the current “Magician” who takes care of Raquel. His grandmother created the automaton when the troupe was just starting out and his father was the one who performed with her. Arty mostly works at his little repair shop by the shore of his hometown. It’s only when Raquel needs him when he’ll travel outside. He took over the job after a devastating accident that caused his father to be bedridden. His father stays with his wife, Arty’s stepmother, in a nearby town in the valley. Though very young, many stop by his shop for help. (note: he does have dahlia/delilah/dalilah piercings on the sides of his mouth)

Raquel was a character I had many drafts of for an OCT I was thinking of entering. She’s actually an automaton created by a performing troupe. They’ve disbanded and she decided to stay by her mechanic, the “Magician”. Raquel’s halves are separate pieces and her top portion floats while she can control her bottom half. She’s also skilled in fighting thanks to some of her side performances. She can go on her own, which she does at times, but relies on the “Magician” for maintenance work and repairs.

I came up with “Kapow Bears” with my carpool group when I went back for my masters degree what seems like yesterday but it’s actually been quite a few years ago now… oddly I haven’t given it much thought although they became characters in my first attempt at webcomics but it wasn’t till today (when trying to figure out a character) that I thought… huh… I suppose there were multiple “Kapow Bears” and rather than symbols of caring or compassion they all probably had symbols of ACTION! Like a Steam Train! Hence the very punny “Trained Bear!” shout out to the Blair 2 Car Pool! Just like being in a cloud car headed back to Care-a-lot!

In the Phaelanyx galaxy… it was discovered that the brain is the most important part of the body… and that bodies are in fact a distraction. At birth, a small scientifically selected group is set aside to produce future generations of the species. After they’ve served for reproduction reasons (or are deemed not to be breeders) the head is removed from the body and plugged into the codex… where the brain is programmed, and cultivated. But every now and then, an anomaly arises… This anomaly is named ST-4PH.

Hortes is the leader of a small rebel group who is convinced that something isn’t right in the kingdom. He is charismatic and charming, making it hard to disagree with whatever he says. He is a thorn in the side of those that are trying to manipulate the government to their ends.

A lone player in the same ARG as previous characters and although he’s an accomplished magic user, he much prefers to manipulate newer players into doing his dirty work for him, then betray them when it’s most convenient.
It’s not that he has a hard time connecting with others, he just doesn’t want to. He’s having far too much fun.

The mysterious toy maker lives in the dark forest by himself and builds the most amazing wooden toys that come to life. When he was a boy he discovered that he had a talent for woodworking, especially making wooden toys. A forest spirit saw this and demanded that the boy transfer his amazing skills to her. Loving nothing else in the world more than making his toys the young artisan refused and the forest spirit spitefully cursed him so that he would have the ability to breathe life into his creations but at the cost of one month of his own life each time.

The toy maker saw the magic that his toys were now infused with and was unable to resist creating growing older with each new birth.